Yet still she hesitated, prolonging the inevitable moment. She shouldn't waste this precious time, couldn't afford to, but she was ignoring her warnings and deadlines to savour these last few moments. She didn't want to type the words. MattxChristie

Matt pushed open the front door with his shoulder. In one hand he clutched a bag of groceries, and under the other arm balanced a bunch of roses, a surprise present for Christie.

He was surprised (and somewhat disappointed) not to find Christie making dinner in the kitchen. Recently his girlfriend had taken to experimenting with various foods, and Matt had to admit that some of the combinations and concoctions hadn't been half bad. "Chriss?" he called questioningly. Maybe she'd had to run to the store. "Chriss, are you home, baby?"

There was no answer.

Matt put the shopping away and headed upstairs to shower and change. As he crossed the landing he heard a movement in the study. He paused in the hall and listened. He heard the sound again.

"Chriss is that you?"

A muffled sob was the only response.

"Christie, are you okay?!" Panicking, Matt rushed into the room.

Christie was curled into a ball in her desk chair and tears were pouring down her face.

Matt took her in his arms and held her close. "Chriss, what happened?"

Christie's fingers hovered of the keyboard hesitantly. She had planned this moment well in advance, thought it through from every angle. As she had turned on the computer and watched the screen load she had known what she would have to write. Yet still she hesitated, prolonging the inevitable moment. She shouldn't waste this precious time, couldn't afford to, but she was ignoring her warnings and deadlines to savour these last few moments. She didn't want to type the words.

Taking a deep breath Christie steeled herself for the emotional pain and shock that she knew were to come, regardless of her mental preparation. It was time to type the words which would lead a loved one to their doom.

Christie held her grief in while she typed.

She didn't think she'd be able to type the words, but they came out surprisingly easy, and she hated herself a little bit for finding it a relief to type them.

She managed to type the whole passage without breaking down, and she even proof read it. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't crying yet.

She tried to forget about what she'd done as she attached the file to an email.

"Hi Bethany, how're you?" she typed. She was being too jovial, she realised.

Tears began to pour down her face as she continued her email. It felt wrong to be writing such a cheerful message when she was sending such distressing news.

"And great news, I finally finished!"

But it really wasn't great news, Christie thought as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

By the time she pressed send the tears were running freely down her cheeks.

She curled up into a ball and let the grief wash over her.

It seemed like an age that she sat there, trying to let the moment pass, when strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"Chriss, what happened?" Matt asked.

She buried her head against his shoulder and just cried. No tears fell any more, her eyes had run dry, but she sobbed anyway.

After another eternity he pulled away from her to look her in the face.

"Christie, you had to tell me what happened."

Chriss reached up and wiped the tears away from her face with the sleeve of her sweater. "I didn't want to kill him, but I just had to. It couldn't have worked any other way."

Matt blinked. He tried to work this over in his mind."Huh?"

"Jerry, I killed him."

Try as he might Matt simply couldn't remember a Jerry. He thought for a moment. "Do you need any help hiding the body?" he asked very seriously.

Much to his surprise, after just a few moments' silence, Matt's girlfriend burst into fits of giggles.

"I didn't actually kill someone, Matt!" she spluttered. Her tear stained face was lit up with a smile. Matt just sat in confusion. "He's a character in Wary City…the comic?"

Matt didn't look any less confused. "So why are you crying?"

Looking down ashamedly she blushed the brightest shade of pink Matt had ever seen. "It just hurts a lot to lose him I suppose. He was one of my favourite characters."

Matt couldn't help himself from grinning at her. "You're an idiot."

"It's true! I bet Beth cries too!"

"No, she won't, she's not as much as a flake as you."

"You're mean."

"You're stupid."

As she hugged him again Chriss's computer beeped to alert her to the fact that she had a new message. She extracted herself from his embrace to read it.

Chriss!

I cried all the way through reading it. T_T

How did you manage to write that? Jerry was the character you were most proud of!

I'm gonna sob all the way through the scene as I draw it. Though I think any tear stains on the artwork could add to the scene…

Great writing as always. I'll draw it when I'm finished with my current draft. I'm actually ahead of schedule. Maybe you should try to do the same…for once. :P

Send my love to Matt

Love you lots

Beth

She knew Matt had been reading over her shoulder. "Told you so," she said simply.

Christie seemed to have recovered from the fictional demise, so Matt stood up and stretched. However when he turned back to his girlfriend she was scowling.

"Did you really think I'd killed someone?"

He ran his hand through his hair as he always did when he was nervous. "Well you were very upset."

She didn't seem impressed.

"No, I didn't really think you'd killed someone."

She smirked. "I'm glad. Because I really don't want to have to return the favour of helping to bury the body when you finally flip and kill someone."

Faking that he was hurt Matt frowned. "You wound me with your words! You could have said if I kill someone, and not when."

"You'll crack and kill Sandra one day."

"That's what I need a girlfriend for; to keep me sane." He grabbed her around the waist. "Speaking of which, she's been sending me annoying messages all day. From what I can tell you seem to have finished your latest piece of writing. I'd say now is the time to help me stay sane. What do you think?"

She giggled happily.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, and gently kissed her.

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